cajal

I can only surmise that it doesn't rain on the planets that others appear to live on. regards cajal

In 1979 I bought a house from Hotblack Desiato. Would that be Hotblack Desiato,the guitar keyboard player of the loudest band in the universe, a humanoid and front man for the band Disaster Area? or An Islington estate agent? You don't know? Perhaps you had best ask Douglas Adams. regards cajal

regards cajal

Finally, would you drive miles through the Christmas dawn and then stand for hours in the dreary Northamtonshire countryside to catch a few seconds' glimpse of the royals?  Certainly, it seems beyond insane to me that grandparents would wake grandchildren up at some ridiculous hour and take them out in the cold, so that they could hold out a bouquet in the hope that one of the royals would deign to relieve them of it?  As for the people in wheelchairs, waiting in the rain, would they not be better off, sitting comfortably by their own warm firesides? Personally no. Must agree with you about being beyond insane. If I were a grandparent or confined to a wheelchair and wanted to view the royals I would tend to drive or wish to be driven through Norfolk to Sandringham should I want this experience. So I would suggest that it might be yourself who is out of kilter in this instance. regards cajal

'Just had home made leek soup for lunch' Definitely a No No for me. Mrs c makes home made soup from a stock of chicken bones and carcass' she boils up. Once she has this stock she adds different ingredients to it(veg, noodles,herbs, even chicken etc). Had to knock the leek ingredients on the head though, about 5 years ago, as they made me fart like a horse and I didn't think it was particularly fair on her after all the time and effort she takes cooking for me. Apart from a few boiled or scrambled eggs I've never cooked a meal in my entire life. So if someone is willing to cover that chore for me I will show them some respect. We use our breadmaker everyday.  It goes on before breakfast and produces either a rye or tournessol loaf at about 11.00 which will be cool enough for lunch sandwiches. Now, perhaps you can tell me, what all this fuss and big deal over French bread is all about. Apart from a restaurant, we often frequent, where they produce what I guess is the equivalent to a grannary cottage loaf which is always fresh, lunch or dinner, everying else appears to be white and tasteless (or have I just described myself there)? Enjoy your bread. Have you considered putting a few chips between a couple of slices? There, managed to stay on the topic. regards & seasons greetings. cajal

I think being able to write and read is a prerequisite for being a forum member ? You reckon??? regards & seasons greetings cajal

1) corned beef (good stuff, not like cat food) 2) heinz beans and chips, with 3) HP sauce and 4) home made bread and butter. Yum,Yum. If we have lunch at home, for me it is always soup and a sandwich. That sandwich can, on occasions, be 1) on 4) with lashings of 3). 1) 2) & 3) are all available in Netto. 2) I no longer eat Heinz beans as I believe they have totally ruined what I believe was a perfectly good and acceptable formula to something that doesn't resemble the original recipe.  However to maintain my fix of beans in tomato sauce Mrs c opens a tin of haricots, drowns them in Heinz tomato ketchup and 2 minutes in the micro...bingo! 4) Is all we ever eat chez nous.... For the past 15 years we have had a Panasonic Breadmaker, best thing since sliced bread. (Oh no, I forgot, we have to slice it ourselves) (edit to stay on theme) I love chips but don't eat them. regards & seasons greetings cajal

it's Japanese rather than Chinese. You are perfectly right and I stand corrected. I fail to understand why I typed 'Chinese' when the viewers comments make several references to it being 'Japanese'......Doh! Thanks for posting it ;) You are truly welcome and thanks to Chancer for the original which prompted me to post this one. regards and seasons greetings cajal

My heartfelt apologies. He came a resounding fourth, receiving less than 10% of the total votes cast. 1st Andy Murray         361,446......35.8%    2nd Kevin Sinfield       278,353......27.6% 3rd Jessica Ennis-Hill   79,898......  7.9% 4th Tyson Fury              72,330....... 7.2% Apologies not necessary. regards & seasons greetings cajal

Last year I underwent surgery for a triple heart bypass (triple pontage cardiaque). Prior to the major surgery my local cardiologist refered me to the clinic where for two days I was examined by umpteen different 'ologists' and underwent exploritory surgery to determine if it was at all possible to fit a stent (une intervention coronarienne percutanée). They decided I would need the full bypass job.  I was then referred up the chain again, so to speak, to a cardio specialist of our region who was concerned about performing surgery as my carotid arteries (artères carotides) don't function as they should. This resulted in a further referral to the regional cardiologist who ultimately gave the go ahead. Following the surgery and a week in hospital I was transferred back the clinic for three days and then to a residential re-education centre for three weeks. During all these procedures there were numerous ambulance taxi journeys taken. My local medicin attested me at 100% for Assurance Maladie purposes. So should paying upfront for any of these procedures be an issue here? You'd think not. However every appointment I have undertaken with the local cardiologist, 5 so far and I will need to see him every 6 months indefinitely, have resulted in me having to write a cheque (cards not accepted - credit that is). This is subsequently refunded by CPAM. The odds and sods that CPAM seem to retain (which to my mind makes it 99.99%) are picked up by my mutuelle. If you have not already opened an online account with Assurance Maladie you can here. With an online account you can interogate your repayment schedule with ease at any time and research all your other health entitlements. Best of luck throughout your recuperation period and future surgical procedures. regards & seasons greetings cajal

Absolutely stunning. The thought process and procedures his mind alone must have to go thru', to achieve a resultant masterpiece like that one must be phenomenal. How do you make an extremely long beam longer? Another work of skill here Its chinese but the few text boxes have sub-titles. regards & seasons greetings cajal

'grains inside the paint' **!!""///// Give me strength...I'd rather a prang on a panel of my car than have to suffer that.  I  definitely have a severe case of OCD when it comes to emulsion, paint or lasure finish. Whatever the job, it never gets used straight from the container it was purchased in. On 2nd and subsequent uses Mrs c always notices a decrease in the amount of tights or stockings she has as I nick them to strain the emulsion, paint or lasure through before use. regards & seasons greetings cajal

...just hope the BBCs axe doesn't fall on Wimbledon next !  I note that the other day it fell on their broadcasting of Formula 1. Channel 4 are to become the FTA transmitters of this event with the promise of no ad breaks during the race. regards & seasons greetings cajal

Bagged myself 2 x 11lts of Lidl (bog standard) white emulsion today.  Don't hang around as it generally flies off the shelves. regards & seasons greetings cajal

I  didn't watch. 'he came a sorry fourth.' 1st Andy Murray         361,446 2nd Kevin Sinfield       278,353 3rd Jessica Ennis-Hill   79,898 4th Tyson Fury             72,330 Not that sorry.  Another 8000 votes and he would have topled J E-H from the podium. Maybe the tag line should have read  'Week-end tele viewing'?  regards & seasons greetings cajal

Here is a link to the Telegraph 2015 contenders for the SPOTY with the case for /case against/bookies odds. regards & seasons greetings cajal

UK style Final  -  Strictly Come Dancing.(2 programmes) Final  -  The Bridge III.(episodes 9&10) It could only happen at the BBC.....Strictly Final (programme 2) BBC1 pitched up against The Bridge III (episode 9) BBC Four. Tough breaks you think.....no problem I say. We watched the 1st Strictly outing where all the 4 finalists performed. Have to say that I thought it was an absolutely stellar finale performance by Katie Derham as she performed a spectacular backwards fall into her partners arms from a podium which must have been at least 2.5 mts in height. (by the way here is a link to an interview with Katie Derham from the June issue of Living France magazine). As the 2nd Strictly outing would be a dance that the remaining contestants had already aired in earlier shows in the series it was basically  going to be a repeat programme of previous performances. These performance are then packed to the gunnells with visual padding whilst joe public votes for the overall series winner. So being totally honest here and let’s face it......who gives a sh*t who wins? At the end of the day it’s just pure entertainment. So, ultimately, it was a no-brainer. Bridge III episode 9 &10. I take my hat off to all the actors and the scriptwriters for performing and producing another truly epic professional series which was as usual full of suspense and intrigue as, throughout the 10 episodes, the full extent of the investigation into the atrocities unfolded. There was also an excellent theme within a theme as the plight and turmoil of the two main characters also became apparent. It would also seem that the ending was left with the possibility of The Bridge IV. Here’s hoping. And yet another excellent Saturday nite's tele UK style. The above represents some of the thoughts, opinions and television viewing habits of the op and will remain under the sole ownership of the op. It is accepted by the op that this ownership may not necessarily be representative of that of other viewers/posters within the Living France forum. If any viewer/poster deems the above to carry an unacceptable bias of favo(u)ritism toward citizens of the United States of America or any other nationality it is purely unintentional. Also if any viewer/poster uncovers any subliminal ‘isms’ embedded in the above the op disowns all knowledge and acceptance of said ‘isms’. Therefore if any viewer/poster is offended by any bias or ‘isms’ they believe are found to be present in any of the above text the op would suggest rather than publish content that could indicate that the said publisher is a complete and utter 'richard cranium’ and that the publisher of such content therefore implements the mechanism of the supplied Report button procedure or better still, they can kiss my a.ss. regards & seasons greetings cajal

So what does the glycerine do?? Apparently this regards & seasons greetings. cajal

**!!??? €10.50 a month.....wot!!!!!  That's €126 a year. For what???? If you have or can obtain a UK credit card (preferably Nationwide) then use that. Mrs c and myself have banked with BNP since 1989 and have not paid them that much in charges in all of those 26 years.  In 2006 they offered us a loan at something in the region of 2.75%.  We snatched their hand off as our cash in the UK, at the time, was earning about 6.0% - 6.5% and we still didn't pay that amount in charges for the loan and  we ended up earning 3.25% at their expense for 15 minutes work of signing their wad of forms. I know diddly squat of the ins and outs of French bank cards apart from the fact that they charge you for using your own cash.  This is a link to a bank card comparison site http://www.10meilleuresbanques.fr/  where you will surely be able to find some sort of better deal for the both of you. In the mean time I would use cash and cheques, wherever possible,  dump the cards and if you receive paper statements cancel them and go numérique. I would also visit the branch and change whatever account you have to a basic no-frills account. We have never encountered any problems with that sort of account in the time we have banked with BNP. Good luck and seasons greetings. regards cajal

Sorted.....update if you are interested. Decided not to wait until the end of January for an e-bay (knock off) sale as per Quillan's suggestion. I could be dead by then!! Carrefour have a 7" own brand 'in store' priced at €44.99 which I pondered for all of 2 minutes but it was sadly lacking in features. I initially attempted to purchase the Kindle Fire 7 via amazon uk on Black Friday as it was on offer for £35 but on submission of my purchase I was infomed it could only be purchased via amazon.fr ( Apparently Amazon Kindles have to be registered and can only be registered to an account and as my Amazon account has a French address it is only possible to purchase from .fr.) I went ahead with the purchase with.fr and thanks to YCCMB's advice regarding a cover to combat the dust issue, which prompted me to buy a tablet in the first place, I purchased a neoprenne zip-up bag to operate it from. Delivery was excellent - dispatced at 18.37 arrived 13.30 next day. Pretty much no set up procedures required apart from an initial download of updates following password connection to the Orange Livebox.  Disabled 90% of services - I don't need them and it prolongs battery power. I doubt whether I will ever download any apps as I can't envisage what I might need them for (possibly an anti-virus prog?)  The ads aren't particularly intrusive (the cost of a €15 subsidy) and are only apparent during screensave. The most difficult feature for me to adapt to is a fingerprint infested screen. As a radio receiver in a workshop subject to dust it is perfect for the job. I was using my planner/thicknesser this afternoon and the Kindle was well and truly dust free with just the amped speaker jack lead cable, with a small grommet I fitted on it for extraa dust protection, protruding from the protective casing. So let the music play seven days a week now and the hell with the dust.  From now on Jimmy Pages' Stairway to Heaven will no longer be closed due to poor visibility. Axl Rose and Bob Dylan will no longer be Knocking on Heavens Door due to respiratory problems and the only concern I have is that if Jim Morrison tells his baby to Light My (Kindle) Fire as I wouldn't relish listening to Roy Wood and his Fire Brigade. regards cajal

Thanks for the heads up Quillan and worth considering as time is not so much of an issue at the moment. regards cajal

I listen to radio via either a satellite box conected up to the tv (limited to the lounge) or on my laptop via Orange Livebox (throughout the house, terrace and the garden). At present if I want to listen to music in the workshop (cave) I schlep down with the laptop and power cable everyday and hook-up to a set of amplified speakers via the headphone outlet on the laptop and only if I don't intend to operate any machinery (dust). My present task is varnishing a set of abri doors I have made (4-coats either side) so no dust to inhibit the use of the laptop for several days there then. On completion and fitting of these doors I will be making 2 sets of garage doors so it will be a return for a prolonged period sans music (more dust). Amazon.fr currently are offering a Kindle Fire http://www.amazon.fr/Fire-%C3%A9cran-17-Wi-Fi-sp%C3%A9ciales/dp/B00ZDWLEEG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448829346&sr=8-1&keywords=kindle+fire for €59.99. Now I must confess that I know diddly squat about tablets but figure from reading previous posts on this thread that a cheap tablet could be the way to go and the answer to the dust issue with the laptop. I would leave a cheap tablet permanently in the workshop, connected up to the speakers, with a view to charging the battery daily (battery run time for Kindle Fire is supposedly 7 hours). I also only listen to one radio station, a music station transmitting from south Florida, so I suspect I won't require any internet radio apps or whatever. My questions are: Will the Kindle Fire be adequate for my requirements? With the laptop the music is saved in my bookmarks. Will this be possible with the Amazon os Fire? It comes preloaded with Kindle Apps (otherwise known as spyware in my book) but for an extra €15 they will remove it. Is it worth shelling out the extra as I wouldn't want them and imagine they would be intrussive. Does anyone have any better solutions on the above All replies and suggestions welcome regards cajal

I'd like to offer a rec for this outfit...racetools.fr of Nîmes. In March I was in the market for a Makita DHP481RMJ perceuse visseuse.  The cheapest I was able to find in the UK was with Toolstop at £310 + delivery.  Racetools was quoting €419 (£1 - €1.44) and they included one of Makitas huge stacking tool boxes with it.  Using a Nationwide credit card to pay for it cost me £291. I chose to receive livraison en point relais. The whole order/delivery operation was quick and simplicity itself. I am in no way associated with this company apart from being a satisfied customer. cajal

We changed our contract with Orange when my wife acquired a smartphone and opted for an Orange simm card. The next time we accessed the site it required a password change to continue ..no scam..no problem. cajal

I use this product (all that is available locally) Guilbert Express Lubrifiant 'Glisse Bois'. Unfortunately it is only available in aerosol which I find is wasteful and tends to also end up where you don't always want it to, but it is very good swag. If I have a relatively large (cash wise) order with 'rutlands.co.uk' I sometimes stick on an order for their Dakota Non Friction Machinery Paste - 70gram - £9.95. Delivery to France is £12.95. Hence the large order reasoning. regards cajal